MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday urged Filipinos in the region to renew their passports through the online appointment scheme.

In an advisory, the embassy said that Filipinos, especially those living in the far-flung provinces of the Eastern and Central Region, should renew their passports “as early as nine months before the expiry date of the passport.”

“Filipinos in the Kingdom are advised to inform their employers of the expiry date of their passports to avoid inconvenience as the new electronic passport will be released around one month after filing or renewal application,” it said.

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The embassy said that it had stopped accepting appointments by text messages and phone calls and as such, all applicants for passport renewal must schedule an appointment through the website www.philembassy-riyadh.org.

“The online appointment system allows the passport applicant to choose the date and time of their preferred appointment. After successful booking of appointment, the system will send a confirmation to the applicant e-mail address,” it said.

It added that applicants should refrain from making multiple appointments so that the embassy could maximixe the 216 appointment slots per day.

It said that if an applicant wished to change his or her schedule, he or she should cancel the appointment to allow another applicant to book the vacated slot.

The embassy also appealed to the different Filipino community organizations in Riyadh to disseminate the information on the appointment system to their respective members.